The Shadow House by Anna Downes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fleeing a toxic relationship, Alex, a single-mother of two, moves with her children, teenage-son, Ollie and infant-daughter, Kara, to the remote eco-village of Pine Ridge.

Alex dreams of a fresh start for them. Things had gotten pretty bad in their old life, with Ollie even having been expelled from school due to of a bit a scandal involving some classmates.

Determined to make it work, Alex signs on to a 3-month commitment at Pine Ridge. They need this. They have to give it a fair shot.

Once arriving, Alex begins meeting current residents of the village, who try to clue her in to the ways of the community. This includes Kit, their charming and charismatic leader.

As much as she wants to fit in, however, there’s something about the place that makes Alex feel unsettled. It’s not just the rumors of the witch who lives in the woods and steals children, but things start to happen to them as well.

Mysterious, ominous packages, strange drawings; it’s all a bit overwhelming. Add to this Ollie’s temperamental and moody behavior, Alex finds herself close to the end of her rope.

Alex has always had a hard time accepting help, but as one of her neighbors reminds her, sometimes it takes a village. Slowly, she begins to lean into the experience, growing closer to some of the others.

It’s unclear who she can trust though. Soon people Alex thought were friends are talking behind her back; it seems trying to push her out. Is this whole scheme some sort of sham?

In addition to Alex’s perspective, the Reader also gets the historical perspective of a woman named, Renee.

Renee once lived in a farmhouse on the grounds of which the eco-village now sits. Years earlier, Renee’s teenage-son, Gabriel, went missing. His disappearance was never solved.

As you learn more about Gabriel from Renee, you see that he has a lot of similarities to Alex’s son, Ollie. Additionally, strange things about Gabriel’s case mirror things currently happening to Alex and Ollie.

Could the two cases be related? Is Ollie in danger, as he fears? Is there a witch in the woods snatching children?

Alex begins investigating.

She needs to find answers before it’s too late, but with no clue who she can trust, the odds seem stacked against her.

The Shadow House is hard to categorize. I wouldn’t stick it in a strict Mystery, Thriller or Suspense category. I think if you go into it expecting that, you may be disappointed.

It feels Dark General Fiction, or Dark Domestic Drama to me, with a slight Mystery. Regardless, I really enjoy Downes storytelling. I was intrigued by her first book and even more with this one.

I loved learning about the eco-village; how it was run, it’s history and the lore surrounding the area. The characters were vibrant and believable.

I also really enjoyed the way Downes used the two perspectives to build the story out. It’s definitely a slow burn, but I was happy with the conclusion and the length of time it took for all of the pieces to fall into place.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was excellent. I felt like their accent attributed a sense of place to the overall story. It was a great listen!

There was a romance subplot that I personally could have done without, but I get it. I understand why Downes included it. I just may have enjoyed it a bit more if Alex had embraced her time finding herself and growing with her children on her own.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this. The atmosphere was fantastic. I loved the build and how it began to feel a bit claustrophobic.

I found certain aspects of it to be unsettling and I did start to feel a real sense of desperation towards the end. The whole is it supernatural, is it not supernatural-vibe; I thought it was very well done.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I appreciate it so much.

This is the second book that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed from Downes. I am certainly looking forward to more!

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